Explore TV and film reimagined as 8-bit video games by Jude Buffum
Jude Buffum started experimenting with pixel art in 2004, but the concept behind this collection struck in 2007: what if beloved movies and TV shows had been made into 8-bit video games? By building each piece as a fake screenshot designed to pack a whole story into a single frame, he was among the first artists to explore what has since become a popular pixel art idea.
The Dude Abides
Inspired by: The Big Lebowski
Gallery: North Bowl
Exhibition: Buy Somethin' Will Ya! (2007)
Award: American Illustration 27 (2008)
Nobody F***s with the Jesus
Inspired by: The Big Lebowski
Gallery: North Bowl
Exhibition: Buy Somethin' Will Ya! (2007)
Award: American Illustration 27 (2008)
Mark It Zero
Inspired by: The Big Lebowski
Gallery: North Bowl
Exhibition: Buy Somethin' Will Ya! (2007)
A Decade of Gallery Shows
What began with an 8-bit exploration of Jude's favorite film, The Big Lebowski, grew into a conceptual body of work for pop-culture themed gallery shows. Most of these exhibitions were at Gallery 1988, the beloved Los Angeles venue behind the long-running Crazy 4 Cult show until it closed its doors in 2026.
Stapler
Inspired by: Office Space
Gallery: Gallery 1988
Exhibition: Crazy 4 Cult: This Time It's Personal (2008)
Award: American Illustration 28 (2009)
T.P.S. Reports
Inspired by: Office Space
Gallery: Gallery 1988
Exhibition: Crazy 4 Cult: This Time It's Personal (2008)
Award: American Illustration 28 (2009)
Care Bear Carnage
Inspired by: Care Bears, Teddy Ruxpin
Gallery: Brave New Worlds
Exhibition: The Autumn Society - 80's Pop! (2009)
Award: American Illustration 29 (2010)
Rainbow Bloodbath
Inspired by: Rainbow Brite, Strawberry Shortcake
Gallery: Brave New Worlds
Exhibition: The Autumn Society - 80's Pop! (2009)
You Say Yes
Inspired by: Ghostbusters
Gallery: Gallery 1988
Exhibition: The 3G Show (2010)
You Wanna Play Pirate?
Inspired by: The Goonies
Gallery: Gallery 1988
Exhibition: The 3G Show (2010)
Last Call
Inspired by: Gremlins
Gallery: Gallery 1988
Exhibition: The 3G Show (2010)
Shitter Was Full
Inspired by: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Gallery: Gallery 1988
Exhibition: The Road to Shermer: A Tribute to John Hughes (2011)
Dick Cream, Stick Team
Inspired by: Wet Hot American Summer
Gallery: Gallery 1988
Exhibition: Camp Firewood (2011)
The Battle of Wits
Inspired by: The Princess Bride
Gallery: Gallery 1988
Exhibition: Crazy 4 Cult 5 (2011)
Ugly Little Spud
Inspired by: Ghostbusters
Gallery: Gallery 1988
Exhibition: Please Post Bills: Bill Murray Themed Show (2011)
Smear Weir
Inspired by: Freaks and Geeks
Gallery: Gallery 1988
Exhibition: A Tribute to Judd Apatow (2012)
Not Penny’s Boat
Inspired by: Lost
Gallery: Gallery 1988
Exhibition: The Official Bad Robot Art Experience (2013)
Olmec Coming!
Inspired by: Legends of the Hidden Temple
Gallery: iam8bit
Exhibition: It's the shizNICK! (2013)
C-137
Inspired by: Rick and Morty
Gallery: Gallery 1988
Exhibition: Rick and Morty (2017)
Nothing Bad Ever Happens on the Labrador Peninsula
Inspired by: BoJack Horseman
Gallery: Gallery 1988
Exhibition: BoJack Horseman (2017)
Client Work
What started as a personal fascination eventually became a recurring assignment. As the concept caught on, publications and studios hired Jude to give their own properties the same 8-bit treatment. For Vulture, he imagined how each of the Stranger Things kids would fare as characters in a classic Nintendo RPG. Entertainment Weekly ran a full spread marking the tenth anniversary of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a film already built as an homage to fighting games, which made the pixel treatment a natural fit. And Filmograph hired him to design an 8-bit end-credits sequence for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle as part of a pitch to Columbia Pictures.
